OOOUCH!: Unbearable Pain

At one point or another we have all experienced some type of pain.
If there's something we can all agree on it's that pain is pAiN!
Physical or emotional, pain does not discriminate, and when it hits it HURTS!

Dude (or dudette - depending on who's reading) I remember this one stomach ache I had when I was yey high. I was curled up like a ball; a fetus; a fetus in a ball... whatever
The pain was so sO So SO unbearable that all I could do was cry; and cry I did!

What's your pain story?

Check it: Physical pain or emotional pain; which is worst?

I don't know either; that's why I'm throwing it out there...

Isaiah 53

Jesus suffered some excruciating pain. Watch THIS and try not to cry like I almost did (the song is one of my favorite all time songs, "Here With Me" by MercyMe).

This is the closest I think any movie director has come to illustrating Christ's true suffering.

"He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." Isaiah 53:3-5

Forget my stomach ache! Jesus was pierced, crushed, beaten, and whipped. I don't think we got that....


Jesus was:
a) PIERCED
b) CRUSHED.... crushed? ... ... ... CRUSHED!
c) BEATEN
d) WHIPPED.... and I know 99.9% of all of us got whipped when we were younger, but this is way WaY waY worst than ours.


I can't even imagine dealing with even one of these, but some way, some how, for some reason, He just took it like it was nothing, not just because but just because, not like whatever but whatever, you know--dust your shoulders off and keep on moving. . . for your sake. . . for my sake

.... whipped!

For my sake.... CRUSHED!

...for my sake... beaten

for my sake... pierced.

Imagine the pain - if you can.
Imagine the agony - if you can.


Check it: THat pain was fresh bread compared to this:

"As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?''Why do you call me good?' Jesus asked. 'Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.' 'Teacher,' the man replied, 'I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.' Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. 'There is still one thing you haven’t done,' he told him. 'Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions." Mark 10: 17-22

Nothing hurts more than rejection.

These past few years have been the toughest for me yet. I, like millions of others, have gone through some very rough times, but nothing so far has compared to these past few years. In them, I have suffered severe emotional pain, most -if not all- caused by the feeling of being rejected, unwanted, unseen.

I gotta pause for a minute... ... ...

For what purpose was He pierced...
For what purpose was He crushed...
For what purpose was he beaten...
For what purpose was he whipped

...if when He asks me to follow Him I say, "Hell no!"

Then why go through all of that for? For what purpose?


Luke 15:5 "...there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!"

"Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." Revelation 3:20

He endured all that pain so I could repent and return to Him, so I can open the door and let Him in. He endured all that pain so you could do the same too...

I don't want to continue causing Him this unbearable pain....

do you..?

Enjoy this song by Larnelle Harris called "Were It Not For Grace" and a song by MercyMe called "Finally Home"